near to Caerphilly, Caerphilly/Caerffili, Great Britain

Inside a tower at Caerphilly Castle

Like many castle enthusiasts and visitors I am slightly disappointed with many castle ruins. You know, towers open to the elements, big holes where windows once were, no floors, pigeons everywhere and just a few interpretation boards or cutaway schematics of what it may have once looked like. Here the restoration work overseen and funded by the Marquesses of Bute a century or so ago goes a very long way to bringing this magnificent castle to life. It's like a film set - a fireplace complete with firewood and fire irons.

You can have a strut about on the oak floorboards, even putting both hands on your hips, maybe even stamp your foot and make remarks like "Forsooth!" or "Egad!", doing 'a cape walk' or practising a few imaginary sword thrusts. I also opted for a short trot around clashing imaginary coconut shells together and announcing “We are no longer the knights who say Ni! We are now the knights who say ekki-ekki-ekki-pitang-zoom-boing!”